The scenario game at Wolf Creek (Clear and Present Danger, March 22nd) was a huge success and a tremendous amount of fun. The only downsides I could see were that there were a couple of fairly serious ‘misunderstandings’ on the field about the rules (one about a bunker tag and one about re-insertions). Some tempers flared and the bunker tag issue almost came to blows, but afterwards, both parties openly and sincerely admitted their fault and shook hands.

There was a re-insertion issue that Temp Team Tango was actually involved in, and even though the written rules of the scenario vindicated us (later), we accepted their on-field call , didn’t argue with the refs, and moved on to the final battle. Both disagreements could have been better avoided by the producers more clearly and thoroughly communicating the rules of engagement in the pre-briefing.  Despite the fact that the refs made a mis-call on our issue, I was pleased with how professionally and quickly they resolved the issue. One of the truly under-appreciated aspects of a scenario is the level of work and calm it takes to referee 200+ testosterone-pumped players over an 80+ acre field and keep everything not only moving smoothly, but safely and fairly. Congratulations to Wolf Creek for a top-notch reffing staff!

I’d like to talk about the re-insertion incident a bit more in detail, not as a critique of Wolf Creek, but as a lesson to fields and players both.

Pre-Game Briefing: Make It Earlier, Thorough, and Humorous
Prior to the game starting, Sarge from Wolf Creek addressed the players in a pre-game briefing and quickly and humorously,  went over the rules. When I asked a question, he seemed somewhat put off that I hadn’t read their rules. I had, but I wanted to make it clear to any newbies who may not have. My question was about what consists of a “kill shot”, a fairly important item of note in a paintball game. As we walked away from the briefing, our team discussed how, while we appreciated the brevity and humor of the briefing, we were concerned about the fact that it seemed to be directed to only experienced players. Granted, there were almost no rental players there and mostly teams, but there were also a lot of walk-ons and non-team groups. Again, this is meant as no criticism of Wolf Creek, but as impatient as we all were to get playing, starting the briefing earlier and going over some key points in more detail may have prevented some bad blood later on.

The first problem was what constituted a bunker tag and who was affected by the tag. Someone tagged a bunker and didn’t kill everyone and when they were killed, they ended up in each other’s face and one even ended up pointing a gun point blank at the other’s mask. That’s about the time it got a little physical. The refs showed up immediately and handled it calmly and professionally and immediately after the incident, everyone involved, very maturely, claimed responsibility for their own mistakes and actions and everyone shook hands and it was all good.

 But it could have been very, very bad. Masks are not indestructible and a paintball fired from one inch away can do a lot of damage. As can a head butt and a fist to the face. While we all want to be good sports, we are only human and a simple misunderstanding can get blown way out of proportion and end up with someone getting hurt or just turned off by the game. Understanding the bunker tag rules ahead of time would have stopped this before it got started.

The Re-Insertion Incident
The little drama Tango Team was involved in was not as nearly heated, but did cause some very angry words and bad feelings to get  passed back and forth.

Ken and I both were shot and left the playing field and walked the long hike to the parking lot to reload, hydrate, and air up. We then walked the long walk back to the Drug Cartel insertion point and met up with some of our fellow Cartel players (probably 7 or 8 of us all together). We masked up and entered the playing field at the insertion point.  I’d like to digress from my story here for a moment to show you the rules regarding re-insertions.

REINSERTION: If a player leaves the playing area, they must reinsert from their distinct entry point. These points are marked on the map. Each entry point has a clearly marked area where shooting is NOT allowed. This should allow for each team to reinsert without fear of being slaughtered while returning to the field. Give people a fair chance at reentry. NO CAMPING AT ENTRY POINTS. Camping is unsportsmanlike and will result in removal from the game. 

As soon as as we entered the woods, we noticed a rather large squad of Colombian Government players (yellow arm bands), maybe as many as 20, headed our way through the woods. We took some cover and since the last time we had been in play, we had an alliance with the Colombians, Ken yells out and asks their intentions. They had already spotted us and had pretty much frozen in their tracks. And for a minute or so, Ken kept asking what they intended to do and we were at a stalemate. That’s when I noticed a few white arm bands of the U.S. Special Forces mixed in with them. Almost simultaneously, I got popped in the mask. It seems their intentions were extremely clear at this point. Gun up, I called “Out!” and walked off the field to our insertion point, a whopping 30 feet behind us. Ken followed me out needing to fix the remote air supply on his gun. The remainder of our team were either slaughtered or ran off into the woods, being vastly outnumbered. Some waited with Ken and I as we waited for the enemy to go by. They had left a few stragglers ”camped” at our reinsertion point to handle us, but the most moved on.  After a bit, Ken opened up on the campers and almost inside our insertion point we were capped again. Someone yelled something indiscernible but angry and I yelled back to not camp at our insertion point. They yelled back that Ken fired first. Which was true. We said okay and agreed were were “out” and again waited at outside the field and our insertion point for them to pass. A pre-teen player had had enough and went to get paint.

By now I had pretty much had it with the jackass screaming at me. They’re parked out side my insertion point and capping us every time we get with ten feet of the field and THEY ARE PISSED? I don’t think so Scooter! I told them to pass on by and we would wait out until they moved away. At this point it was pretty much Ken and I. We entered at our insertion point, took some decent cover and let these guys get some distance away. And then we started capping guys like they were oversized targets. And they wouldn’t call “out”. They just kept returning fire. One guy had his mask covered in Ken’s paint and he was still firing and screaming. I was tagged and Ken wass just after me and we called ourselves “out” just as the refs showed up.

The kid who went to get paint was pissed about the initial ambush at the insertion point and told a ref on the way to the parking lot. The refs were there immediately. They came down on the Colombian and U.S. team for camping. The enemy team said they weren’t camping, but passing through. Which was true to some degree if you call leaving guys at our insertion point as guards while you pass through not camping. We granted that they were moving albeit damned slow, but they had opened fire initially on us as we entered the field. Ken started it the second time and by the third time, we had just flat had enough of these guys. Then… we got to the real meat of the disagreement.

The enemy players said that we had to tag in at our base BEFORE we were allowed to play. Well, to me that defines our base as our insertion point, NOT the taped opening in the field where we entered marked Insertion Point. The rule above doesn’t mention tagging in at the base or “re-inserting” there. There is a rule that mentions when you Regenerate from a Dead Zone inside the field that you MAY walk to your HQ with your gun up without fear of attack (not that you HAVE TO.), but the Re-insertion rule does not mention it in any fashion.

Now, I am not arguing what is the best way to do it, I am just contending that based on the way the rules were written and the way the map was drawn, that we were legally in play as soon as we re-inserted into the field and therefore open to be killed and kill back. Otherwise we would call our HQ the “re-insertion point”.

Th refs said we had to tag the HQ to be back in play. If this were the case, then why would you care if someone camps at the re-insertion point if I have free passage back to my HQ with my gun up?

We didn’t argue or question the refs, we walked with our guns up to our HQ and prepared for the final battle. As we left, the guy with paint all over his mask was still swearing.

The Morals of The Story
Now, as I said earlier, this is not a criticism of Wolf Creek. As a matter of fact, their refs, while making the wrong call, in my opinion, and according to their own rule sheet; handled it well, efficiently, and did a great  job of diffusing a tense situation. I would NOT have that job.  I am not even telling you all this to discuss who was right or wrong in these situations. This is lesson about how it could have ALL been avoided…

• If the rules were gone over more thoroughly, so that even people who didn’t read them understood.
• Questions should be encouraged and it wasn’t assumed that everyone knew the rules.
• The players MUST ask questions.
• Being on a team and being experienced and being right about a rule are 3 different things. All of the issues that materialized during the day, occurred with experienced players on high profile teams.
  • Established team members have more of tendency to lose their tempers as they have more ego and reputation involved. “A newbie couldn’t  POSSIBLY take out an experienced player!”
  • Playing for ten years doesn’t automatically make you right, nor does it give you the right to lose your temper and go off on anyone else. I overheard one team say how  “their high standards were the exception and everyone else’s lower standards were the rule.” No ego in this game! True or not, buy a vowel in the humility game!
  • As a matter of fact, the majority of paint check disagreements seem to be with team members who don’t want to be called out vs. team players who can’t believe they didn’t hit a guy cleanly.

These are both examples of where I don’t think anyone was cheating. I think there were differences of opinions, miscommunication, and lack of knowledge about the rules. Or maybe the rules were not as clear as the field intended. Regardless, rules were designed to make the game safe, fair and to maximize your enjoyment. Make sure you understand them ahead of the game, because they are working in your favor.

Clear and Present Danger Field Rules pdf file

 TATA.